This invention relates to an improvement in plastic containers of a type which are commonly used for packing and shipping products. These containers are well-known and are very useful as they provide lightweight but effective protection.
There are several types of plastic containers in the prior art. Molded polystyrene foam boxes are often used, as are containers made from polystyrene beads which are expanded and heated and then molded to the desired shape. Accordingly, a product can be protected by molding one of these polystyrene containers to the exact form of the item. Because of the light weight of the polystyrene, the container can be made in sufficient thickness to protect the encased product from any damage without appreciably adding to the shipping weight. Consequently, these types of plastic containers are widely used today.
Despite their usefulness, however, the prior art polystyrene boxes have a substantial drawback. The molded polystyrene tends to be very soft and incapable of supporting conventional hinges, latches or the like which require screws, nails or other similar fasteners to secure them to the container itself. The plastic simply breaks away under these fasteners and will not hold them. As a result, the top and bottom of these containers are not attached, and have to be held together by other means such as tape. The tape is not reusable and often damages the boxes when it is removed. Nevertheless, despite these drawbacks, polystyrene or plastic containers are well-known and widely used today.